Raptors +7.5 (5*)
Raptors +300 (3*)
T-Wolves +6.5 (5*)
T-Wolves +280 (3*)
T-Wolves/Mavericks Over 201 (3*)
Raptors- Hard to imagine another 63pt, 30%FG effort on their part. Granted, Detroit played solid defense, but a good portion of the poor shooting effort was just that..poor shooting. Toronto far from a good offensive team to begin with, but I don't see Peterson going 1-13, Davis 5-16, Williams 3-12, etc., again tonight. As good as Wallace is, last game was arguably his best game of the season..yet I don't see him scoring 19pts again and hitting jumpshots and turnarounds like he did..that just isn't how he is. He got 20 rebounds, almost half his teams total and that brings-up another point...Detroit as a whole is a poor rebounding team. I think the Davis, Olajuwon, Clark, Jerome Williams rotation is going to hurt them tonight on the glass. I don't know if Detroit is going to be complacent, but after such an easy win (see Seattle/San Antonio) not sure if the same intensity will be there tonight as it was in Game 1. Veteran, playoff savvy coach in Wilkens, I think he will make some adjustment and we'll see a much closer, low-scoring game tonight.
T-Wolves And Over- To beat Dallas, you are going to need to score at least 100, so I think any play on Minnesota correlates to the Over. Terrible second quarter was their downfall in Game 1, as they let a terrific start dwindle away and allow Dallas to take control of the game. Was still a close game in the second half, as T-Wolves kept inching back threatening to take the lead, only to commit bad turnovers. Minny dominated the glass, +19 margin, I see more of the same..but I don't see another 40% shooting night from them, as they are a high percentage field goal team to begin with and are playing a poor defensive team. Nesterovic looks to be a key, as he had his way in Game 1, 16pts 9rebs, and I believe he can improve on that as LaFrentz and whomever was trying to guard him were taken to school. As I mentioned the other day, Garnett is going to have to take his game to another level and be the man...make some key shots late, demand the ball and either make a shot or draw the double and kick for an open jumper for his teammates...he can't continue to play small in fourth quarters of playoff games. I think Peeler is going to be a factor tonight..only had 7pts in Game 1, but I feel he gets more looks and scores around 14-15 tonight. If he does, Minny has an excellent chance of winning. Defensively, the big guns on Dallas are going to get their point..Finely, Nowitzki, Nash..it is just a matter of limiting the other guys and not having a fourth player score 20...that would be Van Exel who had 18 the other day..Minny needs to do a better job at finding him and not letting him get good looks from the perimeter as he really sets the tempo now when he comes off the bench for Dallas. If I remember correctly, the T-Wolves had a couple of big wins in Game 2 on the road in recent playoff series..one year was at Seattle when the Sonics were a 1 or 2 seed the other was at San Antonio..naturally they don't have all the players left from those rosters but Garnett and Saunders have been there and I think they steal another one tonight.
Good luck!
Raptors +300 (3*)
T-Wolves +6.5 (5*)
T-Wolves +280 (3*)
T-Wolves/Mavericks Over 201 (3*)
Raptors- Hard to imagine another 63pt, 30%FG effort on their part. Granted, Detroit played solid defense, but a good portion of the poor shooting effort was just that..poor shooting. Toronto far from a good offensive team to begin with, but I don't see Peterson going 1-13, Davis 5-16, Williams 3-12, etc., again tonight. As good as Wallace is, last game was arguably his best game of the season..yet I don't see him scoring 19pts again and hitting jumpshots and turnarounds like he did..that just isn't how he is. He got 20 rebounds, almost half his teams total and that brings-up another point...Detroit as a whole is a poor rebounding team. I think the Davis, Olajuwon, Clark, Jerome Williams rotation is going to hurt them tonight on the glass. I don't know if Detroit is going to be complacent, but after such an easy win (see Seattle/San Antonio) not sure if the same intensity will be there tonight as it was in Game 1. Veteran, playoff savvy coach in Wilkens, I think he will make some adjustment and we'll see a much closer, low-scoring game tonight.
T-Wolves And Over- To beat Dallas, you are going to need to score at least 100, so I think any play on Minnesota correlates to the Over. Terrible second quarter was their downfall in Game 1, as they let a terrific start dwindle away and allow Dallas to take control of the game. Was still a close game in the second half, as T-Wolves kept inching back threatening to take the lead, only to commit bad turnovers. Minny dominated the glass, +19 margin, I see more of the same..but I don't see another 40% shooting night from them, as they are a high percentage field goal team to begin with and are playing a poor defensive team. Nesterovic looks to be a key, as he had his way in Game 1, 16pts 9rebs, and I believe he can improve on that as LaFrentz and whomever was trying to guard him were taken to school. As I mentioned the other day, Garnett is going to have to take his game to another level and be the man...make some key shots late, demand the ball and either make a shot or draw the double and kick for an open jumper for his teammates...he can't continue to play small in fourth quarters of playoff games. I think Peeler is going to be a factor tonight..only had 7pts in Game 1, but I feel he gets more looks and scores around 14-15 tonight. If he does, Minny has an excellent chance of winning. Defensively, the big guns on Dallas are going to get their point..Finely, Nowitzki, Nash..it is just a matter of limiting the other guys and not having a fourth player score 20...that would be Van Exel who had 18 the other day..Minny needs to do a better job at finding him and not letting him get good looks from the perimeter as he really sets the tempo now when he comes off the bench for Dallas. If I remember correctly, the T-Wolves had a couple of big wins in Game 2 on the road in recent playoff series..one year was at Seattle when the Sonics were a 1 or 2 seed the other was at San Antonio..naturally they don't have all the players left from those rosters but Garnett and Saunders have been there and I think they steal another one tonight.
Good luck!
